Greek army Sgt. Antonis Deligiorgis rescues an Eritrean woman on the island of Rhodes in April 2015.

Hundreds of thousands of people have signed online petitions to give this year's Nobel Peace Prize to Greek islanders who have helped refugees crossing into Europe via the Mediterranean Sea.

The Guardian reported Sunday an international group of academics has agreed to nominate the people of the islands of Lesbos, Kos, Chíos, Samos, Rhodes, and Leros for the award. Nominations must be submitted by Feb. 1.

A petition on Avaaz.org was first posted in November, calling for the Nobel committee to recognize Greek islanders who had shown brotherhood to Syrian refugees, in spite of their own country's economic hard times.

A second page noted many of the Greek volunteers were everyday people — such as fishermen, teachers, pensioners — who had in some cases risked their lives to help thousands of refugees.

"With their actions, they drowned fear and racism in a wave of compassion and reminded the whole world that we [are] one, united humanity, above races, nations, and religions," the page reads.